Tomorrow is September 11, 2006. Unless you have been living in a coma or under a rock for the last 5 years you know it is the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Five years ago I was firmly planted in a training class to become a CPR instructor again. When the attacks happened we all gathered in our rescue supervisor’s office and watched and waited just like everyone else in the country. We were transfixed at the sight of the 2 tallest buildings in the world set aflame by 2 planes. Then the unimaginable happened, they collapsed. All of this and the many stories on 9/11 have been played out millions of times on many levels and a lot of people have voiced their experiences.

I went to NYC a 3 days after 9/11 with a group of volunteers from my hometown in an effort to help in any way I could. We spent 3 days in New York and didn’t get to participate in the rescue efforts or help much at all. I can tell you that the sights coming into the city were horrible, the colorful city I had seen in previous visits was gone, and the buildings all around the parts of Manhattan I saw were a dull lusterless gray and held an eerie silence that just wasn’t right. The men and women of FDNY were concerned with the lost and dead but still had a cordial tone about them. I was able to listen as the men of a particular engine company discussed a missing guy that had transferred to another company and was lost in the collapse. Due to his status and the sensitive nature of this I will not include company names or personal names, the stories are the same all across the city and the department. Good men were lost and good companies were broken up. As the fifth anniversary draws nigh I wonder how many of the guys I met are suffering with the media attention and the memories that haunt most of the responders from that time. I have been thinking about this posting for several weeks and I have intentionally not posted for a while trying to do justice to the victims and citizens of New York. The tragic details have played across many TVs and movie theaters all around the world. Some jackasses have tried to put an evil spin on the response to the attacks and tried to call the FDNY a group of ‘cowboys’ that rushed to their deaths needlessly and that the fueding with the police was part of the reason for so many dead first responders. They were partially right, they did die needlessly not because of the squabbling but because of the cowards that planned and carried out the attacks.

There is really nothing I can post on, having witnessed the post attack destruction first hand and having men I had previously met perish. The fact is that thousands of people died in the attacks and millions of people have similar stories and I cannot do justice to the memory of the dead and the event.

I have decided to focus on some other events and try to focus on some more upbeat historical events of September 11. Personally, my sister's birthday is tomorrow.

On September 11 1991 2 other planes crashed 1 went down near Houston, the Contenential Express crashed and resulted in the death of 14 commuters. The other plane crashed at Djeddah, Saudi Arabia and killed 263 people. In 1950 33 died in a train crash in Coshocton, Ohio. And obviously pay respect to the over 3,000 people that died in the 2001 attacks.

On brighter notes September 11 is the anniversary of the last baseball game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, the game was between the Yankees and the Os. It is also the date that Ty Cobb played his last game and popped out against the Yankees in his last plate experience. Coincidentally, it is also the same date that Pete Rose got his 4,192nd hit off of Eric Show of the San Diego Padres to beat Cobb’s record. It was the beginning of an 86 year drought for the Boston Red Sox and the start of the curse. Unfortunately the curse ended.


If you are interested in the events of 9/11 from a FDNY firefighters point of view please visit here for a great site for FDNY inside information and a unique look at everything FDNY and an insiders stance on 9/11. I would also suggest visiting CNN's website, they have a great deal of coverage and live video from 9/11/01 and interviews with various people.

There are other events of the past that should be noted but the important fact is that so many gave their lives in defense of the citizens of New York and they deserve a hero’s remembrance. Some people have tried to ban the french film-makers video from being aired on CBS. I think it is up to the men and women of FDNY and the widows of the guys that gave all that day to decide if it should be aired. Myself, I think it should be viewed often so the images and sounds don't fade and the patriotism stays the way it was for the few months following the attacks and everyone remembers the price some gave for them.

Take a moment of silence to reflect on this date and say a prayer for the living and the lost.